Morphological characterization and identification of Populus deltoides Bartr. crosses

Abstract

Leaves are of fundamental importance to plants, representing their facility to generate power and are the sensing units of plants towards the environment. In this study, an attempt was made to characterize and compare the variations of leaf, stem and petiole morphology of various Populus deltoides Bartr. crosses. In order to achieve these objectives, twelve crosses of P. deltoides Bartr. were evaluated for different parameters. On the basis of various morphological characteristics the results revealed that each cross has a distinct color pattern of leaves. Different colors observed in these crosses varied from yellow green to green. Distinct nature of the stem altitude was found. Anthocyanin distribution of leaves was also found. In this study, the morphological traits of leaves and petiole provided discriminatory grounds for separating various populations of P. deltoides Bartr. crosses. Character of stem studies indicates that different crosses vary considerably with regard to shape, colour and nature.